Ibyang
Ibyang

Korean Restaurant: Kaizen BBQ (North Ryde, NSW)

11 January 2012 2 Comments Category: Food, Restaurants

It’s been years since I’ve been to the Macquarie Centre and now that it is near to where the Husband works, we now have a reason to meet up there.

The mall has changed and I’m glad they now have more restaurants.  And what do you know, they have a Korean restaurant!  The minute Hubby arrived, I told him, “I know where we’re going to eat”.

Kaizen BBQ offers All-You-Can-Eat BBQ for lunch (AUD$32) and dinner (AUD$35).  They also offer an All-You-Can-Eat Wagyu BBQ (AUD$38).   


If you don’t feel like gorging on lots of food, you can opt for their ala carte or their All-Day-Special meals that comes with miso soup, rice and salad.

The wooden interiors suggests a modern but clean atmosphere.  The lighting helped in making the ambiance cozy and warm.



As soon as we’re seated, they served us the Banchan dishes and I immediately noticed the cute bowls.  Look, a star!




It was a cold night when we visited last year (pre-Christmas 2011) so we got ourselves a hot pot of pork and tofu with vegetables.  It would have been a great dish had it not been too salty for me.  


We weren’t in the mood for BBQ (sometimes we’re too lazy to really cook haha) so we opted to order their special meals.  The Husband got himself the beef while I had the spicy chicken.  Both dishes were good and enjoyable.  Nothing fancy or spectacular.  It’s like good ‘ol home cooked meal which gave us comfort at the end of a busy day at work.

For dessert, they have lots of cakes to choose from.  Glad to learn that their cakes come from Hello Happy.  We didn’t indulge in desserts though because we were looking forward to having dessert at ZenQ (up next!).


We are looking forward to having All-You-Can-Eat BBQ here soon.

Kaizen BBQ
Level 4, Shop 408
Macquarie Centre
Corner Herring Road and Waterloo Road
North Ryde, NSW
Phone: 9805 0337

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The Abundant Table (How We Said “Hello” to 2012)

Like any Filipino household, we said “Hello to 2012!” with table laden with food and fruits.  Like last year, I cooked Ham and Noodles, had a dessert dish, wine and fruits.  The only difference for this NY’s was I baked a bigger piece of ham (last year we had half a leg of ham) and had my first try at cooking Biko and Pancit Canton.

The Abundant Table (How We Said "Hello" to 2012)

 
Thank God, the food had a great turnout.  The baked Ham was juicier and tastier compared to the first one I made.  The Pancit Canton, to me was average, but the Husband enjoyed it. 

The Abundant Table (How We Said "Hello" to 2012)

I was nervous about cooking Biko but was not able to buy from Filipino shops so I decided to do it myself since we had glutinous rice at home that I wanted to get rid of.  It was surprisingly good.  I was able to replicate the taste of Biko sold in Filipino shops.  

The Abundant Table (How We Said "Hello" to 2012)


I especially bought a few macarons from Adriano Zumbo’s cafe because I love them and they’re round.  In Filipino homes, putting round food and fruits on the table symbolizes prosperity.   
The Abundant Table (How We Said "Hello" to 2012)


Fruits were abundant as I went overboard.  The tradition was to have at least 12 fruits.  But I think we have at least 20 kinds!  I didn’t keep count and I was confident in buying them because I got myself a Juicer for Christmas (Thank you, Husband!)

The Abundant Table (How We Said "Hello" to 2012)
The Abundant Table (How We Said "Hello" to 2012)


My mom and mother-in-law also advised me to light up seven coloured candles.  The colours should be red, blue, green, yellow, orange, purple and pink.  According to them, each colour symbolizes an aspect of our lives BUT I forgot what they were.  In the Philippines, one can buy these multi-coloured candles which has the same size and length.  Since we don’t have them here in Sydney, I improvised and didn’t really care about lengths or sizes.  I like lighting candles anyway.  For me, lighting candles during New Year’s symbolizes a more enlightened year ahead.  I arranged the candles as pretty as I could and then placed it near our Holy Family statue.  Nearby was a bowl of rice with coin, another suggestion of my mom, for prosperity.
The Abundant Table (How We Said "Hello" to 2012)



At the stroke of midnight, we kissed and hugged as we greeted each other, watched the Sydney fireworks on TV and then prayed in front of the Holy Family.

The Abundant Table (How We Said "Hello" to 2012)



I’ve recently opened an account with blipfoto which is a daily photo journal.  Once a member, you are able to publish a photo a day.  Since I cannot blog everyday but always want to document the things I’m grateful for everyday, I’m using my blipfoto account as my gratitude journal.


Let me share with you one of my entries where I shared my thoughts via my blipfoto entitled “A Grateful Life“

This was our table when we welcomed 2012. Our parents have taught us the tradition of having a table laden with fruits and food during New Year’s. According to them, this invites prosperity for the whole year.  

On New Year’s, I felt very grateful for the past year of abundance and blessings. I was also very grateful for 2012 being more prosperous and abundant. Some days we may have dark clouds hovering over us but we always come home to a place where we have enough. Not just food, but with everything we need.  

Thank you God, thank you Universe for always making sure we have enough of what we need and more.

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Discovered Inspirations: The Secret to Happiness

A hundred year old man shares the secret to happiness.  His words are so spot on and this Coca-Cola video made my heart tender.

My name is Lolo Mario
I have been lucky
Lucky to have been born like you
To have friends and family
To live a happy life to this day
You have been born in challenging times
The world is a big place
It’s so easy to get lost 

To guide you, my advice is simple
Go find what makes you happy
Time flies by so fast
Don’t waste it on nonsense
And no matter where you end up
Don’t forget where you came from
Looking back on all my years,
I am grateful for every moment spent with friends and family 

Now that I can see that 100 years
Is not nearly enough time to spend with them
Happiness is your birthright
Your friends and family will help you find it

Feel your heart at this very moment.  And if you’re unhappy, now’s the time to do something about it.  Life is short.  Let’s find the passion that will make our hearts flutter.  Let’s spend time with people who gives us enormous joy and who makes us feel loved.


Have a great week!

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Korean BBQ at Home (a.k.a Our Christmas Dinner 2011)

We’ve always loved Korean cuisine even way before we travelled to Seoul.  Together with friends, the Husband and I sometimes dine at  Korean BBQ restaurants in the metro.  

After our Seoul adventure, I took the plunge of incorporating Korean cuisine in the household and learned cooking Korean dishes such as making my own Kimchi, Kimchi Stew, Tuna Pancake and Korean Fried Chicken.  Our pantry showcases a heap of ingredients for Korean dishes (lots of chili and pepper paste!) and we even keep a separate area  in our silverware cabinet for the Korean cutlery we bought in Seoul.

Three months ago, we bought a small, cheap smokeless griller and we’ve been having our own Korean BBQ dinners at home.  





I usually cook a dish or two on Christmas Day but last year (which is technically just two weeks ago) was probably the most relaxed Christmas for me because I didn’t cook.  We instead had Korean BBQ on our balcony during sunset, ate, talked, laughed and drank Soju to our hearts’ content.  It was lovely.  

Korean BBQ at Home



The usual stuff we prepare for Korean BBQ:  Sesame Oil, Chili Oil, Kimchi, Sliced Onions, Mushrooms, Lettuce and any other vegetable we may have inside the fridge.  On Christmas day, we had bean sprouts so I just stir-fried it in Olive Oil and carrots then garnished with salt, pepper & Sesame Oil.


WHERE DID WE GET OUR BOTTLE OF SOJU?  We find it difficult finding where to buy Soju but one of the Korean-Japanese restaurants we frequent in Sydney was kind enough to sell to us and let us take it home.  According to the restaurant owner, the law states that bottled liquor should be drank in the restaurant and not to be taken home (because they are a restaurant and not a liquor store).  What they made us do before we left the restaurant is open the bottle and re-seal it.  With that premise, we technically just took home a “leftover” Soju.

Korean BBQ at Home



We know we have shot glasses but on Christmas day, I can’t find it (or maybe we didn’t have it after all???). Instead we used our cute and adorable Sake glasses, a gift from our friends.  

Korean BBQ at Home


Korean BBQ at Home

Our BBQs by the balcony is one of the best dining experiences we have at home.  Other than just a gastronomical experience, the Husband and I get to bond more while we talk, laugh and eat.  We have trees and a view in our balcony (we’re on the 3rd floor) so it’s just beautiful to sit out there as soon as the sun sets.  

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Discovered Inspirations: This Year by Chantal Kreviazuk


As we welcome 2012, AWCL introduces a new feature called “Discovered Inspirations” wherein we hope to share discoveries and nuggets of inspirations that will help brighten your day and be a source of positivity.

-o0o-

From one of my favourite movies, “Serendipity“, comes one of my favourite pick-upper songs, “This Year” sung by Chantal Kreviazuk.
  

I like listening to “This Year” anytime of the year.  Some mornings, I’d start my day by playing this song and sing the lyrics inside my head (because I’m usually inside the train or bus when I hear my music via an mp3 player).  On days when I need a little cheering up, faced with disappointments, have had a bad day or needing encouragement in finishing a task, I listen to “This Year” to make myself feel better and cheerful.  With the positive message the song is trying to convey, it works for me.  “This Year” doesn’t fail to make me smile and feel like I can conquer the world again.


This year, is gonna be incredible
This year, is gonna be the one
All the planets are lining up for me
This year, I’m gonna have fun


This year, I’ll paint my masterpiece
This year, I’ll be recognized
I can feel like I’ll fall in love for real
This year, this year


January, I’ll learn to fly
February, love’s gonna find me
March, April, May, I’ll get carried away
Oh, oh…


This year, I’ll reach the pinnacle
This year, I’ll get to the top
People will ask where she get that energy
This year, I’m never gonna stop


January, I’ll learn to fly
February, love’s gonna find me
March, April, May, I’ll get carried away
Oh, oh, oh, oh…


This year, is gonna be incredible
This year, is gonna be the one
All the planets are lining up for me
This year, I’m gonna have fun


I’m gonna have fun
Just watch me now
This year
This year
This year 

What about you?  What song or songs that help cheer you up?

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